New Delhi, Nov. 28: Foreigners can now become IIT directors.

The IIT council, the top decision-making body of the premier tech schools, has agreed on a proposal to advertise “globally” to get the “best persons” for the post of director, so far confined to Indian nationals.

The matter came up when the council met on September 14.

“There was a consensus that the post of director of an IIT needs to be advertised globally so that not only greater transparency in the process of selection is maintained but (also) the best persons are nominated for the prestigious post,” said the minutes of the meeting.

A copy of the minutes is with The Telegraph.

The council’s decision does not need to be ratified by the cabinet. But the Indian Institutes of Technology will have to take security clearance from the home ministry before appointing a selected person, a standard procedure before recruiting a foreign national for a government job on contract.

So far, the Indian Citizenship Act had been the main bottleneck in appointing a foreigner as a regular director in any institute of national importance. The law says only Indian nationals can be considered for permanent posts.

But over the last few years, the government has been appointing directors to the elite institutions on a contract of five years. So the citizenship act wouldn’t be an issue.

Another hurdle in appointing a foreigner as an IIT director was a home ministry directive that any foreigner appointed for a government job on contract would have to be paid more than $25,000 a year, which works out to around Rs 12.5 lakh.

The Sixth Pay Commission package, which was implemented in 2009, has taken care of this salary clause. IIT directors now get around Rs 14 lakh a year. Earlier, they used to get less than Rs 10 lakh a year.

IIT Guwahati director Gautam Barua said after the council’s nod for global advertisements, foreign nationals would get to know about vacancies and apply for posts of directors.

“The IITs can now put advertisements on their websites asking anybody from any country to apply. Since the post of IIT directors is contractual and they get more than $25,000 a year, any foreign national can apply and get the job if found suitable,” Barua added.

“The decision will also help Indian nationals working abroad to apply and get posted as directors in IITs. They can contribute to the institutions in a big way,” said former IIT Delhi director Surendra Prasad.

IIT sources said selection panels would also have a wider pool of candidates to choose from.

The council decided that the process of selection must start six months before the incumbent’s term ends.

It also decided that the chairperson and the board of governors of an IIT would review the performance of the director twice a year and send a report to the council.

“The board of governors and the chairman will make an assessment of the director and send the report to the council. The council says this procedure will make directors more accountable. We are comfortable with this decision,” Barua said.